Owen Smith has been axed from Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet after calling for a new EU referendum.

The Labour frontbencher was "asked to stand down" as shadow Northern Ireland secretary after calling for a second Brexit vote.

He has been replaced by Tony Lloyd.

Smith hit out at the opposition leader, tweeting: "Just been sacked by @ jeremycorbyn for my long held views on the damage Brexit will do to the Good Friday Agreement & the economy of the entire U.K.

Owen Smith previously said Jeremy Corbyn should do more than "just back a soft Brexit" (Image: PA)

"Those views are shared by Labour members & supporters and I will continue to speak up for them, and in the interest of our country."

Party colleagues have been quick to jump to the Pontypridd MP's defence over the announcement, with former Labour cabinet minister Lord Hain accusing Jeremy Corbyn of a "terrible Stalinist purge".

The former Northern Ireland secretary said Owen Smith had been doing a "terrific job" and "in a shadow cabinet with a few big hitters he was definitely one".

Labour MP Anna Turley said Smith's sacking was "disappointing" and he would be a loss to the front bench.

Former cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw told Smith he was "very sorry to see you go".

Smith, who unsuccessfully challenged Corbyn for the party leadership in 2016, insisted Labour needed to do more than "just back a soft Brexit".

Corbyn has been careful to say that Labour is not seeking a second referendum on a Brexit deal but has avoided completely ruling out such a vote.

Leader Jeremy Corbyn has been careful to say that Labour is not seeking a second vote on a Brexit deal (Image: Daily Mirror)

Writing in The Guardian, Smith said: "Given that it is increasingly obvious that the promises the Brexiters made to the voters - especially, but not only, their pledge of an additional £350 million a week for the NHS - are never going to be honoured, we have the right to keep asking if Brexit remains the right choice for the country.

"And to ask, too, that the country has a vote on whether to accept the terms, and true costs of that choice, once they are clear.

"That is how Labour can properly serve our democracy and the interests of our people."

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Smith said that remaining in the EU single market and customs union was the only way to meet the UK's commitments under the Good Friday Agreement.

"If we insist on leaving the EU then there is realistically only one way to honour our obligations under the Good Friday Agreement and that is to remain members of both the customs union and the single market.

"I'm pleased my party has taken a big step in this direction by backing continued customs union membership, but we need to go further."